All-Russian Classical Music Marathon "Cantata. Russia" will be held in Russia on June 12

On June 12, Russia Day, the All-Russian Classical Music Marathon "Cantata. Russia" is one of the largest academic music events in Russia. The marathon is held as part of the classical music festival "Cantata". This year, 15 regions joined it: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Kaliningrad, Astrakhan, Cherepovets, Kursk, Novorossiysk, Yoshkar-Ola, Ryazan, Rostov Veliky, Rostov-on-Don, Khabarovsk, Cheboksary, Karelia. In total, about 20 thousand viewers are expected throughout Russia.

The marathon locations will include iconic historical, cultural, and even industrial sites in the regions. Classical music will be performed in the Astrakhan and Ryazan Kremlins, Rostov Veliky Cathedral Square, Khabarovsk Komsomolskaya Square, Cheboksary Red Square. In addition, for the first time, the Cantata concert will be held at the site of the Cherepovets metallurgical plant, and blast furnaces will serve as decorations for the concert.

"The key idea of the marathon "Cantata. Russia" is the promotion of academic art and the creation of a strong link between generations through the rich heritage of the country. Symphonic and choral works are performed in historical and public spaces, uniting Russian citizens in a common language of music. It is important for us that on June 12 the country sounds with a single symphonic voice — from Kaliningrad to the Far East," said Sergey Novikov, Head of the Office of the President of the Russian Federation for Public Projects, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Cantata Festival.

According to a survey by the VTsIOM Analytical Center, 22% of respondents have attended theater, ballet or opera over the past year, and one in ten have attended classical music concerts. Among young people aged 18-35, this figure reaches 16%. The study also shows a high interest in academic art among the audience with higher education and residents of the country's largest cities. "The study captures an important trend: academic art is no longer a niche product. This is confirmed, among other things, by the interest of young people in classical music, ballet, theaters, and museums. There is a demand for intellectual leisure, and this is direct evidence of the demand for high—quality educational projects that turn passive consumption into a deep experience," said Valery Fedorov, Director General of the VTsIOM Analytical Center, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Mass Communications at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation.

The central event of the marathon will be a concert at the Rossiya National Center in Moscow with the participation of conductor Yuri Bashmet. "For me, the unity of the country is our culture, it shapes our identity, connects generations, makes us recognizable in the world. It has been very important to me over the past few years to take part in a wonderful project, the Cantata Festival. It was with a special feeling that we prepared the program of the Russia Day concert at the National Center this time, building it up as a journey through Russian culture from Glinka to Sviridov. Symbolically, we will start the concert with the Russian national anthem, and end with Sviridov's "Time Ahead" with music of energy, movement and aspiration for the future," said Yuri Bashmet, artistic director of the Novaya Opera State Symphony Orchestra, Hero of Labor of the Russian Federation, People's Artist of the USSR.

The marathon program includes works by Mikhail Glinka, Modest Mussorgsky, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Dmitry Shostakovich, Georgy Sviridov, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Igor Stravinsky and other composers whose works form the basis of the Russian academic musical tradition.

Symphony orchestras, choral groups, soloists and conductors from different regions will participate in the regional programs. The symphony Orchestra and choir of the Astrakhan State Opera and Ballet Theater under the baton of Honored Artist of Russia Valery Voronin will perform in Astrakhan. The Far Eastern Academic Symphony Orchestra will take part in Khabarovsk, the Yaroslavl Academic Governor's Symphony Orchestra and the Philharmonic Choral Capella Yaroslaviya, opera singer Lyubov Kazarnovskaya will perform in Rostov Veliky. The Chuvash State Academic Symphony Capella will perform in Cheboksary on the Red Square of the city. The Questa Musica Orchestra conducted by Philip Chizhevsky, Artistic Director of the E.F. Svetlanov State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia, will perform in Cherepovets. "For the first time, Questa Musica will sound in an industrial landscape, and it cannot but inspire. We will dedicate the concert to the music of Georgy Sviridov, which responds to the rhythm of production processes and the power of Domestic metallurgy. I'm sure she'll get a special reading. With this program, we will show how academic art can be in tune with technological progress. Both are integral components that make our lives full, so the symbolic "Time Ahead" will occupy a special place in the concert," said Philip Chizhevsky.

In Kaliningrad, on the Cathedral Square of Kanta Island, a combined orchestra of musicians from the Kaliningrad Symphony Orchestra and the Moscow State Academic Symphony Orchestra will perform under the direction of the artistic director of the VI International Classical Music Festival "Cantata" Fabio Mastrangelo. The program features pianist Angel Wong. The host of the evening is theater and film actress Sofia Ernst.

"All-Russian Marathon " Cantata. Russia" is currently one of the largest projects in the field of academic music in Russia. On Russia Day, classical music goes beyond concert halls and is played in kremlins, squares, historical centers and iconic locations. It is especially important for us that academic art becomes a part of the overall cultural experience of the country," said Andrey Borisov, General Producer of the Cantata Festival, General Director of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko MAMT.